Hazards, Vulnerability andDisaster Risks

Introduction to Hazards, Vulnerability & Disaster Risks

1. Unit I HAZARDS, VULNERABILITY AND DISASTER RISKS Prepared by Dr.S.Ajith Assistant Professor – ISE

2. Disasters Disasters are the hazards that cause destruction or environmental changes Types Natural disaster Man made disaster

3. Disaster – General Definition The disaster is an undesirable occurrence of events of such magnitude and nature that adversely affect production, cause loss of human lives, injuries and properties as well as damage to the environment.

4. Disaster – Disaster Management Act of 2005 “Disaster means a Catastrophe, Mishap, Calamity or Grave occurrence in any area, arising from natural or man-made causes, or by accident or negligence which results in substantial loss of life or human suffering or damage to, or degradation of environment and is of such a nature or magnitude as to be beyond the Coping Capacity of the community of the affected area.”

5. What is Hazard ? A process, phenomenon or Human Activity that may cause Loss of Life, Injury or other Health Impacts, Property Damage, Social and Economic Disruption or Environment Degradation Hazards – Hazards have a potential to cause Damages & Losses & only if they Cause Damages & Losses, we may tag them as Disasters & otherwise Not!

6. Case Study - Hazard “An expert biker is riding his brand new bike on the Mumbai -Pune Expressway. It is the monsoons and the Western Ghats is looking absolutely stunning. All of a sudden, a small rock rolls down from the steep slopes and lands right in front of the biker. The biker, who was riding almost as fast as the wind, could not control his bike and skidded off the road.”

7. Vulnerability It is the inability to resist a hazard or to respond when a disaster has occurred. For instance, people who live on plains are more vulnerable to floods than people who live higher up. In actual fact, vulnerability depends on several factors, such as people's age and state of health, local environmental and sanitary conditions, as well as on the quality and state of local buildings and their location with respect to any hazards.

8. What human actions can increase our vulnerability? When people cut down too many trees at a faster pace leads to deforestation. It increases the vulnerability of many communities to rain which, when they fall on unprotected soil, cause mudslides, landslides, floods and avalanches. Building homes in high-risk places makes more vulnerable. For instance, if you live too close to a river and people have been throwing garbage into it so that the water cannot flow on through, you will be more vulnerable to floods.

9. Exposure The situation of people, infrastructure, housing, production capacities and other tangible human assets located in hazard-prone areas . How do we measure exposure? Measures of exposure can include the number of people or types of assets in an area. Common data sources are council and local government agencies, household surveys, aerial photos, and individual architectural/structural drawings

10. Coping Capacity It is the ability of people, organizations and systems, using available skills and resources, to manage adverse conditions, risk or disasters. The capacity to cope requires continuing awareness, resources and good management, both in normal times as well as during disasters or adverse conditions. Coping capacities contribute to the reduction of disaster risks.

11. Classification of Hazards Categorized by “High Powered Committee” (HPC) in August, 1999, before the Orissa super cyclone in November, 1999

12. Natural Disaster A natural disaster is the effect of a natural hazard (e.g., flood, tornado, hurricane, volcanic eruption, earthquake, landslide

13. Examples of Natural Disasters Cyclone Earthquake Tornado Volcanic eruption Tsunami Flood Drought Avalanche Landslide

14. Cyclone Cyclone refers to any spinning storm that rotate around a low pressure centre Closed low level atmospheric circulation, strong winds and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce a heavy rain Cyclones are characterised by inward spiral winds that rotate about a zone of low air pressure

15. Cyclone forms due to latent heat driven by significant activity The biggest cyclone recorded is the Bhola cyclone. It hit coast of today’s Bangladesh in 1970 with a death of 3,00,000 people.

16. Earthquakes Earthquake, any sudden shaking of the ground caused by the passage of seismic waves through Earth’s rocks. Seismic waves are produced when some form of energy stored in Earth’s crust is suddenly released, usually when masses of rock straining against one another suddenly fracture and slip. They are measured using seismograph The Valdivia earthquake is the biggest earthquake ever recorded. It hit Chile on May 22, 1960 with a magnitude of 9.5 Richter scale & death of around 6000

17. Tornados (Twisters) A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is touching both the ground and a cumulonimbus cloud. Tornado conditions are caused when different temperatures and humidity meet to form thunder clouds Twisters can attain speed upto 100 miles an hour The deadliest tornado recorded in Daultipur and Salturia , Bangladesh on April 26 th , 1989. Death – 1300 & injured – 12,000

18. Volcanic Eruption A Volcano is an opening in a planet’s surface which allows hot magma to escape from the surface. Study of volcano is called volcanology and volcanic eruptions are measured using volcanic explosivity index. The biggest volcanic eruption is Mount Tambora , Indonesia on April 10, 1815. Death – 71,000

19. Tsunami A tsunami 'harbour wave’, is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. The tsunami caused by 2004 in Indian ocean by earthquake is the deadliest natural disaster with a dead of 2,80,000

20. Floods Floods are caused when water overflows from a water body One of the biggest flood in the world is the Yellow river flood in China in 1887 which killed around 9,00,000

21. Drought Drought is a prolonged dry period in the natural climate cycle that can occur anywhere in the world. It is a slow-onset disaster characterized by the lack of precipitation, resulting in a water shortage. Drought can have a serious impact on health, agriculture, economies, energy and the environment.

22. Avalanches An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a hill or mountainside. Although avalanches can occur on any slope given the right conditions, certain times of the year and certain locations are naturally more dangerous than others. Wintertime, particularly from December to April, is when most avalanches tend to happen. The biggest avalanche happened in Mt. Huascaran, Peru killing 20,000 people

23. Landslide A landslide is the movement of rock, earth, or debris down a sloped section of land. Landslides are caused by rain, earthquakes, volcanoes, or other factors that make the slope unstable. Geologists, scientists who study the physical formations of the Earth, sometimes describe landslides as one type of mass wasting.

24. Man made Disasters Bhopal Gas Tragedy On December 2, 1984, poisonous Methyl Isocyanate (MIC) gas spilled from the factory run by Union Carbide. One of the deadliest chemical disasters in history left over 10,000 people dead (the exact number is still being debated) and over 5.5 lakh more injured and in excruciating pain.

25. Fire at AMRI Hospital AMRI Hospital's basement caught fire in the early morning hours of December in Kolkata's Dhakuria neighbourhood. On the morning of December 9, 2011, most patients and medical personnel were asleep because it was early (about 3 am). 160 stuck in the hospital 89 lost their lives in the incident

26. Jaipur Fire (Indian Oil) The Jaipur oil depot fire broke out on 29 October 2009 at 7:30 PM (IST) at the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) oil depot's giant tank holding 8,000 kilolitres of petrol, in Sitapura Industrial Area on the outskirts of Jaipur, Rajasthan, killing 12 people and injuring over 300.

27. Other Industrial Accidents May 7, 2020 : Visakhapatnam gas leak. A gas leakage accident at LG Polymers chemical plant in Gopala samudram , Vizag. The leakage had spread over a radius of about 3 km, affecting the nearby areas and villages. 11 were killed and more than 1000 people were injured as of 7 May 2020. 3 June 2020 : 2020 Dahej chemical plant explosion. Five deaths and more than fifty people injured. August 4, 2020 : 2020 Beirut explosions ( Lebonan ). A massive explosion of a large cache of ammonium nitrate at the Port of Beirut flattened much of the port and damaged buildings throughout the city. More than 200 people were killed and over 7000 injured.

28. Other Industrial Accidents 4 November 2020: Ahmedabad chemical factory blast resulted in twelve deaths and injuries to nine people. 6 January 2022: Surat gas leak: At least six people died and 22 people became sick following gas leak from a tanker in an industrial area in India. 4 June 2022 : 2022 Sitakunda fire. A fire and subsequent explosions at a container storage facility in Bangladesh's Chittagong District killed at least 33 people and injured more than 450 others. 27 June 2022 : 2022 Aqaba toxic gas leak, at least 10 dead and more than 251 injured by ruptured tank containing 25 tons of chlorine in Port of Aqaba, Jordan.

29. Pandemic Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Most people infected with the virus will experience mild to moderate respiratory illness and recover without requiring special treatment. However, some will become seriously ill and require medical attention. Older people and those with underlying medical conditions like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, or cancer are more likely to develop serious illness. Anyone can get sick with COVID-19 and become seriously ill or die at any age.

30. Disaster Vulnerability Profile of Tamilnadu Tamil Nadu is prone to multi hazards, higher than other States and is frequented by hazards of various nature and different intensities. The vulnerability of the coastal community became exceedingly evident when Tsunami struck the southern coast of India. Besides Tsunami, the coastal community faces disasters like cyclone and floods periodically. Communities in other hazard prone plains and hilly regions of the State face threats from Landslides, Earthquakes and Floods. Urban flooding is also becoming a growing concern in the State.

31. Cyclone In general, the coastal area of Tamil Nadu is prone to cyclones and depressions. Cyclone forms in low-pressure zones in the Bay of Bengal. The cyclone along the Tamil Nadu coasts is not as severe as in Andhra Pradesh. Tsunami An earthquake of magnitude 9.00 on the Richter scale struck seabed off the Sumatra Coast, Indonesia at 6.28 AM on 26.12.2004. The resultant seismic giant sea wave (Tsunami) battered the coast of South India. The people living in villages and towns all along the coastline Chennai, Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur, Villuppuram , Cuddalore , Nagapattinam , Tiruvarur , Thanjavur, Pudukkottai, Ramanathapuram , Thoothukkudi , Tirunelveli and Kanniyakumari were affected

32. Major Cyclone in Tamilnadu

33. Tamilnadu State Disaster Management Authority 1. Hon’ble Minister for Revenue and Disaster Management 2. Chief Secretary to Government 3. Secretary, Revenue and Disaster Management Department 4. Secretary, Finance Department 5. Secretary, Home Department 6. State Relief Commissioner and Commissioner of Revenue Administration 7. Director, Centre for Disaster Management & Mitigation, Anna University, Chennai and 8. Head of Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras.

34. Role of TN Disaster Management Authority The State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) is responsible for coordinating the response to disasters and to reduce risks. All measures for mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery are undertaken under the guidance and supervision of the Authority. The SDMA approves the State Disaster Management Plan and District Disaster Management Plans in accordance with the guidelines laid down by the National Disaster Management Authority.